Wearing items on which there are pictures of Muslim scholars

25-3-2010 | IslamWeb

Question:

I do see Muslims who wear the picture of Muslim Scholars on their neck and most time they write songs for them in exalting their names. Abd this is common among the Sufis. What is the Islamic Point of view on this

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

 

It is not permissible to items on which there are such pictures, which are in reality pictures of people whom people think they are righteous and pious. However, wearing whatever has such pictures on it includes many prohibitions among which is that this is a means of being attached to these pictures, and believing that they may benefit or harm, and this leads to Shirk [associating partners to Allaah] as is the case of many people who follow the Sufi methodology and other methodologies.

Indeed, the origin of the Shirk of the people of Nooh [Noah] was from the pictures [idols], as per the Hadeeth reported by Al-Bukhari from Ibn ‘Abbaas who said about the gods of the people of Nooh: Wadd, Suwaa’, Yaghooth, Ya’ooq and Nasr: “These were the names of pious men from among the people of Nooh, and when they died, the devil whispered to the people to put idols at the places where they used to sit and name them after them, and they did so. At the first place, the people did not worship those idols but when the people who built those idols died, and the knowledge was taken away, it [idols] was worshipped.”

Hence, one should avoid wearing whatever has those pictures in it as a means of blocking the way to evil and protecting the Tawheed (i.e. the right belief that Allaah is the only One worthy of worship). For more benefit, please refer to Fataawa 83949 and 83615.

Allaah Knows best.